


Occupational hazard

by 98percent



Category: Hawaii Five-0 (2010)
Genre: Emotional Hurt/Comfort, M/M, Pro surfer!Steve, Secret Relationship, alternative universe, detective!Danny, opposite of meet-cute, rating might change in the future
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-04-24
Updated: 2017-04-24
Packaged: 2018-10-23 09:58:51
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 2,437
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10717152
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/98percent/pseuds/98percent
Summary: Danny never thought much of surfers.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> I fell in love with McDanno a month ago, and I'm going to burst if I don't do anything right now.

 

 

 

 

“Danny,” Steve picks up before the first ring.

Danny lets out a shaky breath. “Hi Steve,” he struggles with his awkward tongue, which feels like twice the size it's used to be in his mouth. “Sorry I couldn't be there today. Did you win?”

A moment of silence. “Yes,” Steve says, sounds out of breath and in shock and _happy_ , “ yes, yes. I did. God, Danny, _I DID_!”

There's a lot of noise coming from the other side, Danny can barely make out Steve's words, but he can't miss the thrill in his voice. And Jesus holy CHRIST, Steve _wins_! “That's--that's great! I know you can do it, babe. I always know. That half wit of a twat stands no chance against you. What was his name again...? Whatever. I can't believe you actually won! It's like, you are the best in the whole U.S of A now, right? Jeez. That's awesome. You are, you are the best.”

“Danny, wait, where are you?”

“I am so happy for you, babe. You always wanted it. And I know you tried so hard--”

“Danny, Danny, listen to me. Where are you right now?”

“I--,” Danny struggles to sit up; he didn't realize he's been sliding down along the wall he is slouching against, and he can't breath in this position. He tries to straighten up, but he still can't breath. “I--I am, I don't...”

“Danny!” Steve is yelling now, sounding way too stressed for someone who just fulfilled the ultimate goal of his life, “Danny, please tell me where you are. I am on my way.”

“I--I don't,” Danny slurs, “I don't think that's a good idea, babe.”

How did Steve know he is in trouble, Danny has absolutely no clue; maybe Danny breathed wrong, or maybe Steve picked up the desperation evaporated from under Danny's skin all the way across the island, by nose or whatever extra-human sensor he had developed during his Navy time.

“Danny,” Steve's voice is roaring in his ears, with the wrath of god, and it makes Danny dizzy and nauseous. “Danny, WHERE ARE YOU! ”

Danny doesn't want to tell him, because he knows Steve is going to be late. But it's a close call. He almost did it--it's very hard to disobey when Steve use voice like that. It takes all he has to restrain himself from blurting out the address, and Danny bites down on his tongue until he tastes blood.

“Steve, no, babe, listen to me,” Danny tries to concentrate, knowing that time is of essence to him right now, “I--”

He struggles with words. Truth is, Danny always struggles with his words, that's why he talks so much all the time, because he couldn't find the right one until he says it all. But that's a luxury Danny doesn't have right now. He needs to pick his words carefully.

_I am sorry?_

He is. Danny is sorry he missed Steve's big moment. He is sorry he said mean things to the most generous man on earth and never apologized. He is sorry it has to end this way, but he is not sorry it happened in the first place, and he doesn't want to give Steve wrong ideas.

_I love you?_

Urh, god, that's gross. Danny would be ashamed to face his maker if _that_  is his dying thought.

How about this _\--I wish we can have this conversation under a different situation. With the time we spent together I'_ _ve grown quite fond of you. Now, no one is dropping the L word, so don_ ' _t get too excited, but it'_ _d be a great consolation to me if I know that you know I know what you'_ _ve done for me, and Hawaii is not that bad, and even though I am going to leave you all, I wish you'll_ _never forget me, please don'_ _t forget--_

No way. Danny can't say all that much. He can't breath. He have to choose one sentence, one sentence that he wants Steve to know the most; one that would matter to Steve as much as it matters to Danny; one that would let Steve know that Danny regrets nothing and he has been so, _so_  happy--

 

 _Thank you_. This will do.

 

“Thank you,” Danny murmurs, “Steve. Thank you. _Thank you._  Good bye.”

He pushes the button to end the call, and let the phone slips away from his fingers.

 

Danny adjusts his position against the wall and lets it sink in, now that the mission is done.

God, he is going to die.

He is going to die, and what about his job? What about his grand plan of buying a boat and dying of old age? What about his baby girl, his perfect, perfect Grace, his light and sunshine. What about Gracie's boyfriend, who hasn't shown up yet but who Danny will shoot with a shotgun in the face if he breaks her heart? Who's going to walk his beautiful girl down the aisle, _Stan_?

What about Steve? Steve, hands on his hips looking indignant; Steve, popcorns in mouth and guffawing like he lost his mind; Steve, loop-sided smile on his face, proud at himself for telling jokes so old Danny's grandfather grimaces in the tomb.

Steve, raising his fingers to touch Danny's tie, staring down at Danny like he is in awe. Steve, drawing him so concentratedly even though he can't draw for shit. Steve, who holds Danny's hand like it's the manliest thing to do on earth, telling Danny they could have it his way, or whatever other way that's out there, long as they have it.

The fear starts eating into Danny, driving him out of his mind.

Steve. God, no, _Steve_.

 

 _Not now_ , Danny tells himself, squeezing his eyes shut, _not now. It can'_ _t be now_.

 

Not now. Danny doesn't want to die. Not now. Not anymore.

 

*************************

TBC.


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “I am going to talk to a surfer about a dead girl, because that's my life now,” Danny sighs, “let's hope he got something good.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Another chapter! Kudos for me.

 

_Seven months ago_

 

 

 

Danny is going to solve this case.

He is going to solve this case, and then he is going to sleep for three days. He is going to solve this case, and then he is going back to eat three meals a day like all human beings do.

Danny is going to solve this case, file the report, buy more sunscreen, and take Grace to the zoo like he promised. He is going to find a real apartment, because it's ridiculous that he's been on this huge, godforsaken rock for five months now and he still doesn't have a place he can call home. He is going to fix the coffee machine which gives him cold dishwater every morning, and he is going to punch the next guy who calls him haole in the teeth, joke or not.

Danny is going to do all that. He is. He just needs to do it one thing at a time.

Danny is going to solve this case, and then everything will go back to normal. But first, he needs to solve this case.

******************************

Danny looks down one last time into the girl's dead, unfocused eyes, before gesturing for coroners to take her away.

It's only ten in the morning, but the sun is already blazing down at them in full force unforgivingly. Even the sand is reflecting light at him, and Danny can't look at anywhere without his eyeballs hurting. He needs to wrap it up fast before his hair catch fire on the top of his head.

“Who found the body?” he asks the closest officer who has a notebook in his hand, assuming he is the one who collected all the info.

“Uh,” the officer looks up, and Christ is he young, “It was,” he flips through the notebook frantically, “uh, Ms. Gonzalez.”

He looks at Danny expectantly for a few seconds until Danny raises an eyebrow. “Oh, right, sorry! She is a tourist. She was resting her legs over there, and found the body in the shades. She started screaming, and someone called the police. Do you want to talk to her, sir?”

Danny shakes his head. He doesn't think she will know much, and he's not in the mood to explain to a poor lady why her vacation has turned out so traumatizing. “Do we have any other witness?”

“Uh, no.”

Fantastic. Danny looks over at the crowd that's starting to gather at the brink of the scene. A 15-years old girl is dead over here, and they all stand a few feet away behind the yellow tape, looking curious but generally in a good mood.

Danny can't blame them for being happy, of course. It'd be extremely petty for him to do so. They are tourists, and they came here to have fun. It's the very reason they are here in the first place. To be happy.

“You can probably talk to those surfers, though,” Makaio tells him, dragging Danny back into the here and now. “Some of them come here very early. They might've seen something.”

 _Right,_  Danny mentally shudders, _talk to the surfers._  The most cheerful of all those cheerful.

He nods his thanks to the other officer and makes his way to the beach slowly. There are a bunch gathered there already, throwing him longing looks, looking like they're dying for Danny to inquiry them so they can post it on their Facebook that they've being ‘a part of a murderer case'.

There is one that looks promising, though. A tall, tanned man, standing there by himself, surfboard tucked under his arm. He is looking at Danny's direction, eyes narrowed in alert. He looks cautious, not curious, and that's something Danny can work with.

It also doesn't hurt when Danny gets closer, he finds out that the man is out-of-the-worldly gorgeous. He is all lean muscle, tall and evenly tanned, completed with broad shoulders and a narrow waist. He is ridiculously handsome, too. Eyelashes to die for.

Danny is not one to indulge himself, but what the heck, it's been a shitty day. “Hi. I'm detective Williams. Id like to ask you a few questions, if you dont mind.”

The man nods, wiping water out of his face, flexing his biceps like nobody's business. “Sure.”

“When did you come here this morning?”

“At five.”

“AM?” 

“Yeah. I'd like to start early.” 

Great. So he is handsome _and_  crazy. “Did you notice anything unusual when you were here?”

“I wasn't really paying attention, but no, I don't think so.”

Danny nods. It was a long shot, anyway. “Were you here all morning?” he asks, trying to be conversational a little bit.

“Yeah. I have all my supplies with me in my truck, so I didn't leave the beach.”

“Don't you have work to do or something? It's week day. Did you just... _surf_?”

“Wow,” I-am-a-GQ-model raises an eyebrow, “that's a lot of prejudice you just put into one single word, detective Williams.”

Here goes for trying to be _conversational_. “Sorry,” Danny cringes, mentally kicking himself for letting the last sentence slip from his big, fat mouth. Must be the heat. “It's just,” he tries, “my old man would give me hell for that. You know, you don't work, you don't eat, stuff? Yours didn't?”

“I wouldn't know,” the other man says, a cautious smile tugged at the corner of his lips, the one you wear when you know you're going to say something that's uncomforting for both parts, “he is dead.”

Ah. Of course he is. Count on Danny to make fun of someone's dead father. Christ. He can't even handle a three-minutes conversation right. And to think he actually thought this could be the best part of his day, just so he can drop the ball and bust everyone's toes.

Danny doesn't know what his face looks like right now, but it must be something, because tall tanned and gorgeous actually apologizes first.

“Hey, hey, it's okay,” he puts a hand on Danny's shoulder, “it was a long time ago, and you couldn't have known that. I shouldn't bring it up.”

“I'm sorry,” Danny mumbles, rubbing at the side of his neck, “I'll shut up now.”

“But you are asking me questions about a murder case.”

“Right,” Danny closes his eyes for a brief moment, “right.” He reaches into his pocket and pulls out his business card. “Just,” he hands the card over, and lets out a breath of relief when the other man takes it without question. “Call me if you recall anything that might be of help.”

“Sure,” tall tanned and gorgeous replies, “by the way, I am Steve.”

“Detective Williams,” Danny offers before he realizes he already told him that.

Tall tanned and--STEVE nods instead of saying ‘I know', which Danny appreciates immensely. They shake hands briefly; Steve's grab is firm and warm, but it's also wet, so Danny can't say he enjoys it much.

“All right. You have a good day,” Danny murmurs, waving absently before turning around and walking back to the crime scene.

 

Humiliation can take over him later. Right now, Danny has a case to solve.

 

*******************************

Danny almost forgets about the unfortunate encounter when his phone rings. “Williams.”

“Hi, this is Steve. You talked to me earlier today,” a brief pause, “you remember me, right?”

Right. Not that Danny is not trying to do the opposite. “Yeah, of course.”

“Here is the thing. My friend took a photo of me this morning and just sent it to me. I found something on it that you might want to have a look.”

“What is it?”

“It's a black vehicle. It drove right onto the beach and didn't have a license plate. I mean, it might be nothing...but you did say call you if I have anything at all.”

Danny thinks about it. “When was it taken?”

“Around 7 AM.”

It roughly fits the TOD. Could be something. Danny glances at his watch; 6 PM. He can at least pick up some food if it turns out to be nothing.

“All right. I'd better take a look at that. Can you meet me somewhere?”

Steve gives him an address and a name that sounds like a bar. _Big surprise_ , Danny rolls his eyes while scribbling it down on his palm. Like surfers have anything else to do other than drink, eat, party and surf. Not necessarily in that order, but preferably all at once.

 

Meka looks up from his desk curiously when Danny walks by. “Where are you going?”

“I am going to talk to a surfer about a dead girl, because that's my life now,” Danny sighs, “let's hope he got something good.”

******************************

TBD.

**Author's Note:**

> So...what do you think of it? I hope you all had fun. I know I did ;D
> 
> Also, just so you know English is not my first language...so excuse my bad grammar and typos. All mistakes are mine, and don't hesitate to shove them in my face, that's the quickest way for me to do better next time.


End file.
